1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to atomizer devices for use in discharging a liquid into or on the body of a patient. More particularly, the present invention relates to a disposable atomizer device that includes a trigger valve system for enhanced control of a spray discharged from the atomizer device into or on the body of a patient.
2. The Relevant Technology
Atomizer devices have been in use for many years in order to create a spray from a reservoir of a liquid. Early atomizer devices, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 938,648 to DeVilbiss, included a receptacle for a liquid that was attached to an air tube and a liquid tube. The air tube and the liquid tube communicated at their outer ends with a common spray head. A venturi effect was created by the spray head such that liquid was withdrawn from the receptacle through the liquid tube as air was passed through the air tube, thereby forming a spray discharged from the atomizer. Another early atomizer device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,261,503 to Figgis, included a similar structure of a receptacle for a liquid attached to air and liquid tubes. A common spray head was swingingly mounted on the forward ends of the tubes and created a venturi effect for atomizing a liquid discharged from the device. While these early atomizers produced a liquid spray, there was no mechanism for controlling the air flow to the atomizer and the spray thereby produced.
Various other spray devices have been developed in the past that utilize a variety of complicated valve structures, pulling valves, and the like, to control air entry into the spray device. These include various spray guns used for paint, inhalers for medical treatment, and other such spray devices. Nondisposable reusable atomizer devices for medical use that utilize a venturi effect are available from Carabelly of Italy, and DeVilbiss Health Care, Inc., but these devices are expensive to use and replace.
The nondisposable atomizer device available from Carabelly (hereinafter the "Carabelly atomizer") is a portable device that includes a metal outlet tube containing two inner tubes for air and liquid, and a glass bottle for holding a liquid to be atomized. A rubber bulb connected to the device is squeezed by an operator in order to supply air to the device to generate a spray of the liquid.
A nondisposable atomizer device manufactured by DeVilbiss Health Care, Inc. (hereinafter the "DeVilbiss atomizer") includes a glass receptacle for holding a liquid, and a pair of metal outlet tubes extending from a metal coupler to an atomizing nozzle, with the coupler removably attached to the receptacle. One outlet tube communicates with the liquid in the receptacle via a glass inlet tube disposed in the receptacle. The other outlet tube communicates with a source of compressed air via a removable T-shaped metal connector having a bleeder port. In order to operate the DeVilbiss atomizer, the bleeder port in the T-shaped metal connector is covered by the operator to actuate compressed air flow to the nozzle. Such a configuration provides difficulty to an operator in regulating the air flow and the resulting spray discharged from the device, and the T-shaped connector can easily become dislodged from the device. Furthermore, the open aperture of the T-shaped connector can be a source of infection introduction to the patient, and can cause the operator to contract a sore or ulcer on a thumb or finger due to airborne contaminants.
The metal components in the Carabelly atomizer and the DeVilbiss atomizer are relatively difficult to manufacture, resulting in expensive products. Since these atomizers are nondisposable and reusable, it is necessary to disinfect and sterilize the devices after each use, which if not done properly increases the risk of spreading infection or disease.
Another problem that occurs with the above nondisposable metal-containing atomizer devices is that the medication atomized by such devices crystallizes on the inner surfaces of the metal components of the devices. This makes it very difficult, if not impossible, to clean these devices after repeated use, and often operators have to throw an expensive reusable atomizer device away and get a new device since the reused device becomes inoperable. In addition, it is difficult to maintain a quality control program in processing and cleaning reusable atomizers, and there is no quality control procedure incorporated in the cleaning cycle to ensure that the device is working properly. Thus, the operator never knows if the device is clogged or if it will function properly until the attempt is made to operate the device.
Further, the cleaning process for reusable atomizers is time-consuming and complicated. It takes approximately sixty minutes to clean and process a reusable atomizer device and prepare the device for reuse. The following steps are necessary to process a used atomizer device in order to ensure proper cleaning from one patient to the next. First, the device is soaked in a disinfecting agent after use, and then is transported to a central supply area for reprocessing. The device is then disassembled, hand cleaned, packaged, and placed in a sterilizer such as an autoclave. A problem that occurs in attempting to clean a used atomizer device is that the inner lumen of the device for the liquid medication is usually impossible to clean and becomes plugged after about two or three uses, resulting in a new device having to be used.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved atomizer device for medical use that overcomes or avoids the problems of prior atomizer devices.